Today, more likely than not, Congress will vote on a resolution, H. RES. 867, written by AIPAC and introduced by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. It condemns the Goldstone Report on Gaza.
It will very likely pass. It is meeting some unexpected opposition, however. (You can join those, like Jewish Voice for Peace, in voicing your opposition)
The resolution itself is barely 8 pages. We can be sure that the overwhelming majority of those that vote for it today will never have read it. The report that it condemns is over 500 pages long. It includes descriptions of the horror of the war on Gaza that took place last winter. We can be sure that even fewer congressmembers have even looked at that seriously (except the excepts sent to them by AIPAC). Only a tiny number of Congresspeople have set foot in Gaza in several years.
Can the US afford ignorance?
UPDATE The Resolution passed by a large majority. Some 30+ members opposed the measure. It is the hope of many of us that we can now make sure that Congress looks at the substance of the report. The question of whether the Human Rights Council in the UN is fair or not is not the only question.... What congress needs to consider is what are the consequences for the US to continue to send military aid a nation that uses White Phosphorus on civilians, destroys essential infrastructure, and keeps a civilian population under a deadly siege.
AIPAC is accustom to getting its pet resolutions sail through Congress without much reflection. At times it has run into problems. The best example of that would be a resolutionit heavily supported that would have in essence supported President Bush placing a naval embargo on Iran. After gathering the co-sponsorship of a majority of the House, it was withdrawn after outrage from peace groups (including Kossacks, who generated hundreds of calls, if not thousands to members of Congress). Some members of congress admitted they had not read the resolution they were co-sponsoring (it was all of 3 pages!). Today, congress again acts on a knee-jerk response in supporting anything from AIPAC. No thinking necessary.
Unfortunately for aipac however, a few congresspeople are thinking this through. This may not be the slam-dunk they thought it was going to be. It is likely to pass, but with possibly serious opposition.
I would like to make two points. First, some people have dismissed this concern entirely because it is resolution, not an actual law. Just words. Yet words do lead to action, and if President Obama does heed the words of this extremist resolution, then it hurts the prospects for peace. How could the US call for human rights elsewhere when it rejects so strongly to holding Israel, a US ally, accountable when it commits war crimes? Secondly, our principled opposition to this resolution in Congress will help create a new environment to create alternative approaches to supporting justice and peace in the Middle East. I firmly support that the US Congress take a serious look at what happened in Gaza. Invite Justice Goldstone to testify. Invite his opponents as well. Invite a few residents of Gaza to tell their story. Invite a few residents of Sderot. It would be great that as many congresspeople who visited Sderot in the last few years would also make their way to Gaza and talk to the people there. and see the demolished factories. the bombed water sanitation structures. This would be change i can believe in.
From Congressman Brian Baird:
Israel and Gaza Deserve Better Than HR 867
by Brian Baird Common Dreams
Before House Members vote on H.Res. 867, regarding the U.N. Goldstone report on the Gaza conflict, there are a few questions worth asking.
First, why are we bringing this resolution to the floor without ever giving former South African Constitutional Court Justice Richard Goldstone a hearing to explain his findings? Have those who will vote on H.Res. 867 actually read the resolution? Have they read the Goldstone report? Are they aware that Justice Goldstone has issued a paragraph-by-paragraph response, available on my Web site at baird.house.gov, to H.Res. 867 pointing out that many of its assertions are factually inaccurate or deeply misleading?
Since scarcely a dozen House Members have actually been to Gaza , what actual firsthand knowledge do the rest of the Members of Congress possess on which to base their judgment of the merits of H.Res. 867 or the Goldstone report?
What will it say about this Congress and our country if we so readily seek to block "any further consideration" of a human rights investigation produced by one of the most respected jurists in the world today, a man who led the investigations of abuses in South Africa, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Kosovo, and worked to identify and prosecute Nazi war criminals as a member of the Panel of the Commission of Enquiry into the Activities of Nazism in Argentina?
Please read the whole thing.
From Congressman Keith Ellison:
Read Goldstone's Report on Gaza
Who is afraid of Richard Goldstone? No one should be. Not even the U.S. Congress — yet it is poised on Tuesday to condemn the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Goldstone report on violations of international law related to the Gaza war of late 2008.
Why the fear? Judge Goldstone is no Israel basher. He is famous for apprehending Nazi criminals in Argentina, for serving as chief prosecutor for the U.N. International Criminal Tribunals and for chairing the Independent International Commission on Kosovo. He is motivated by his struggle against apartheid in South Africa. A self-described Zionist, he serves as a trustee of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has said that "bringing war criminals to justice stems from the lessons of the Holocaust."
At the outset, note that four sections of the Goldstone report deal with abuses by Hamas, including the launching of rockets into civilian towns in Israel. The report explicitly states that these rocket attacks are war crimes.
Yet despite Goldstone’s stellar reputation, the veracity of the report — and his motives — has been challenged. The detailed Goldstone report concludes that "the Israeli military operation was directed at the people of Gaza as a whole, in furtherance of an overall and continuing policy aimed at punishing the Gaza population, and in a deliberate policy of disproportionate force aimed at the civilian population."
.....
This is about much more than just another imposed political litmus test that we are all too often asked to perform. This is about whether we as individuals and this Congress as an institution find it acceptable to drop white phosphorous on civilian targets, to rocket civilian communities, to destroy hospitals and schools, to use civilians as human shields, and to deliberately destroy nonmilitary factories, industries and basic water, electrical and sanitation infrastructure. This is about whether it is acceptable to restrict the movement, opportunities and hopes of more than a million people every single day.....
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Please, take a few moments to contact your congressperson. Urge them to take a more thoughtful approach to this resolution and to the problems in the Middle East.
Finally, i want to share a statement that I received from Cong. George Miller's office, his chief of staff Daniel Weiss. They share the view that Congress should look carefully and thoughtfully at the Goldstone Report and reject this resolution. I am especially pleased that they also urge a hearing that will include Justice Goldstone.
Dear Chairman Berman,
As Members of Congress we are deeply concerned about any violation of
human rights and international law wherever and whenever it may occur
and we believe it is essential that such violations be identified and
investigated.
We are aware that the U.N. General Assembly is soon to act on a
resolution relating to the findings of the Goldstone Report and we have
profound reservations about the one-sidedness of the resolution that was
passed by the U.N. Human Rights Council and its exclusive focus on the
actions of Israel and corresponding neglect of actions by Hamas or other
parties. As such, we believe it is thoroughly appropriate for the U.S.
Congress to insist on a balanced U.N. resolution and investigation that
holds all parties accountable. We also believe it is perfectly
legitimate for the U.S. Administration to insist on such balance in any
resolutions from the U.N. and, if necessary, to veto further action on
resolutions that fail to meet this standard.
Having established that, however, we must also convey our deep
reservations regarding H.Res.867, a resolution that harshly and in
several parts inaccurately criticizes the "Goldstone Report". Few
jurists in the world today have a record as impressive as Justice
Goldstone, who has led human rights investigations in South Africa,
Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo as well as a member of the
International Panel of the Commission of Enquiry into the activities of
Nazism in Argentina. Given the seriousness of this matter, we believe
it essential that Congress conduct a proper hearing and invite Justice
Richard Goldstone to testify. Justice Goldstone has published a
detailed reply to H.R. 867 pointing out specific factual inaccuracies,
misrepresentations and items taken out of context. We believe that to
act on H. Res. 867 or any other resolution regarding his report without
hearing from Justice Goldstone directly is premature and unwise.
Further, we have serious concerns that H.R. 867's language insisting
that the U.S. "oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further
consideration .... in multilateral fora." , is excessively broad and
inconsistent with our national commitment to human rights and the rule
of law. If violations of human rights or international law have
occurred, the United States should not stand in the way of their
investigation or prosecution but instead should insist that any
investigation or prosecution should be fair, fact based, and apply with
equal rigor and justice to any and all parties.
Therefore, we respectfully request that H.R. 867 not be brought to the
floor as it is currently written. Instead, we encourage a resolution
that focuses on the imperative of a fair and objective process within
the U.N.; that does call on the U.S. administration to oppose any
resolution that does not meet such standards; that looks at possible
violations by any and all sides to the conflict; that urges, as
recommended by the Goldstone report, internal investigations by the
respective governments or groups; and that invites justice Goldstone to
present his findings and discuss his recommendations before a hearing of
the Congress.
We have attached with this letter a copy of Justice Goldstone's response
to
H.R. 867 as well as a letter from Israeli human rights NGOs.
Thank you for your consideration.
You can read Goldstone's Letter to Berman here.
A note. Yesterday was the 74th anniversary of the birth of Edward Said. We miss his wisdom, his compassion, his humanism, his radical commitment to justice and peace. He has passed, the dream and the hope lives on.
"Remember the solidarity shown to Palestine here and everywhere... and remember also that there is a cause to which many people have committed themselves, difficulties and terrible obstacles notwithstanding. Why? Because it is a just cause, a noble ideal, a moral quest for equality and human rights."